Manic Monday

May 4, 2015 / Erin May / Leave a comment

Firstly: Happy May the Fourth! Today is the day Star Wars Nerds unite, and watch the new trailer over and over again.

I had a wonderful weekend enjoying the sunshine, hanging out in my backyard, and I finally got around to setting up a sewing station for a couple bigger projects I have in mind!

With that, here are some sewing tutorials I’m keeping in mind. I’d like to make:
- Bolster Pillow
- Summer Tank Tops
And with the backyard shenanigans I’m anticipating as weather continues to get nicer, here are some DIY Backyard Projects.
Some fun mindless creative work, perfect for keeping your hands busy while you watch TV or listen to a podcast.
…And I can’t believe this is a thing, but you can buy books by the foot, in whatever color scheme you like. I do love me a color-coordinated bookshelf, but is this missing the point of owning books? (you know….to read?)

Manic Monday

April 27, 2015April 28, 2015 / Erin May / Leave a comment

For today’s Manic Monday, I’d like to tell you about a wonderful Portland-based walking tour and the local artisanal and craftsman products featured in this tour.

First, a disclaimer: Culture Craft is set to formally launch in May, and is the brain-child of the wonderfully talented and wickedly funny Shauna Noah, who I am lucky to count as among my good friends. This connected lady has pulled together some of the most interesting emerging artisans located in the inner southeast area of Portland, and I got to be part of her test run this last weekend. I also helped her in designing her logo.

Here’s a little glimpse at the fun we got up to:

Culture Craft PDX Walking Tour - Hey Hey Erin May

Culture Craft’s website isn’t launched quite yet, so for more information, I’d encourage you to visit the Facebook Page. And here are links to each stop we were able to visit in our tour:

BaseCamp Brewing.
- Favorite thing: The s’more stout.
- What I learned: the fiberoptic cables on the ceiling make up the constellations!
Jacobsen Salt:
- Favorite thing: The smoked salt.
- What I learned: making salt is more involved than you would think, and produces a lot of calcium!
Ancient Heritage Dairy:
- Unfortunately not open during this first run tour, but I am extremely enthusiastic to learn more about them.
EastSide Distilling:
- Favorite thing: The Burnside Bourbon-what else??
- What I learned: the (very delicious) marionberry whiskey will feature prominently at this year’s Rose Festival.
Potato Champion Food Cart:
- Favorite thing: Poutine!
- What I learned: a sample size of poutine but whets the appetite for more.
Woodblock Chocolate:
- Favorite thing: this is a tough one, it was all so good! I guess the toasted sesame, it was surprising and satisfying.
- What I learned: basically, what makes for real chocolate. I had no idea how chocolate was made, and what it could mean to tie the process so completely together with the agriculture. Informative and tasty.

All in all, I would highly recommend this tour and visiting these places on their own! All nice people, doing beautiful and thoughtful work.

Manic Monday

April 13, 2015April 13, 2015 / Erin May / Leave a comment

Dino fact: The Apatosaurus is also well known as the Brontosaurus. Confusion was caused when bones of the giant dinosaur were first discovered back in 1877 by Othniel Charles Marsh. After naming the new dinosaur Apatosaurus (meaning deceptive lizard), he later found a larger set of bones and incorrectly thought they were a new species which he then named Brontosaurus (meaning thunder lizard). It turns out that the second set of bones were just the adult version of the Apatosaurus. The name Brontosaurus caught on and it wasn’t until recently that the original and technically correct name Apatosaurus has gained widespread use among the public.

Dino fact via Science Kids: The Apatosaurus is also well known as the Brontosaurus. Confusion was caused when bones of the giant dinosaur were first discovered back in 1877 by Othniel Charles Marsh. After naming the new dinosaur Apatosaurus (meaning deceptive lizard), he later found a larger set of bones and incorrectly thought they were a new species which he then named Brontosaurus (meaning thunder lizard). It turns out that the second set of bones were just the adult version of the Apatosaurus. The name Brontosaurus caught on and it wasn’t until recently that the original and technically correct name Apatosaurus has gained widespread use among the public.

Here are some links and interesting articles to get you through your Monday Afternoon Slump:

A North Portland home renovation was featured on DesignSponge
What does your writing style mean when it comes to email? Keeping it short if your first priority, according to Hubspot’s Marketing blog.
Computer programmers know that there sometimes are ghosts in the machine. Read this and more with 9 truths computer programmers know.
Can’t be bothered to leave your armchair? Bring the table to you with this DIY solution to keep your beverages at hand!
Google Docs saves every keystroke and misstep you make in the writing process- and it can make for a boring but reassuring view of the creative process.
We’re all supposed to be our own worst critics. How can we turn this self talk into something more productive? If anyone should know, it’s Seth Godin.
Maybe it has something to do with spring cleaning season, but I’ve noticed a lot of people posting about feeling “blah” in their home. Here are some ways to find joy in your home when you’re just not feeling it.
…and finally, we all know sleep is important, but some of us have a hard time actually getting to count those sheep. Never fear! Here is a boring-on-purpose podcast designed to lull you to sleep.

Happy Monday, folks!

Manic Monday!

March 9, 2015March 8, 2015 / Erin May / Leave a comment

Hello and happy Monday!

Portland is having a beautiful run of weather. This weekend was spent in long walks with my puppy, and hanging out in the sunshine. Just 20 minutes outside and I’m already a little crispy–I blame my pale, translucent native Portland skin.

Osa also loved the warm weather. Can you tell?

Here are some fun links for your week!

I love this article on how to stop apologizing all the time! It’s something I’ve noticed myself doing, and if nothing else reading this article helped me become more aware of my own habits.
Elsie shared some of her Hand Lettering Tips on A Beautiful Mess a while back, and it’s inspired me to start back up with my typographic drawings! Now I’m looking for different fun turns of phrases to illustrate. Open to suggestions!
With Spring upon us, the time for gardening and outdoor projects is also here. This DIY Chevron lattice Trellis from Remodelaholic is fun!
I’m starting to feel like I’m the only one in Portland who doesn’t know the joy of making my own Hummus. It’s seriously come up 2-3 times in the last month! Here’s a recipe I’m going to try out this week.
And if you need a laugh, I can’t help but giggle about this video. “My name is John Daker.”

Manic Monday

September 2, 2014 / Erin May / Leave a comment

Kyle and I in our wolf “honey” and “mooner” shirts!

I’m back. I’m a Mrs. I had an amazing honeymoon. More will follow along these lines, but for right now I’m just so glad to have free time again! I’ve been recovering from wedding mania with fun, friends, family, and exercise. Now, I’m ready to be back to my “regular” routine, and that includes keeping up with this blog.

Here’s to a return to my normal blogging routine!

And here are some links to keep you busy this week:

Ever since an amazing Bachelorette weekend, I’ve been obsessed with AirBnb. How amazing is this back yard guest room, all built from a sixties camper?
Ira Glass as a creative powerhouse: how does he do it? This is a great article.
You know how sometimes you learn a new word, and then it’s suddenly everywhere you turn? That’s been the word “pergola” for me and Kyle. Here’s how to build your own, part 1, 2, and 3.
It’s about to be real hot in Portland again, and these tips to stay looking cool when it’s “face-meltingly hot” are super helpful.
I might need these tips to get me going on blogging again: Anatomy of a Blog Post, from one of the experts!

Manic Monday

March 3, 2014 / Erin May / Leave a comment

Hello! Happy Monday, y’all! It’s almost 5:00 and I can safely say that the end of this day cannot come quickly enough. “Case of the Mondays” isn’t a sufficient term for today; I had more of a Monday Keg.

Getting SUPER AMPED about marketing resources? Sounds about right.

So let’s distract ourselves with some fun links! This is a long list because the last time I posted a link blog was so long ago. Ha!

A Beautiful Mess has apparently been a favorite of mine, judging by my Feedly. Lately, Emma and Elsie have:
- Posted about some fun statement wall ideas.
- Created a simple and functional Pouf.
- Wrote about the many paths we have to our dreams– and how your dreams sometimes unexpectedly find you.
Kyle and I have been obsessed with HBO’s True Detective the last few weeks, and one of my favorite things about HBO shows is the attention to detail and artistry of their show opening sequence. The double-exposure technique for True Detective is beautiful and haunting (and a little reminiscent of the creepy True Blood opening sequence?)
Did you watch the Oscars? I don’t have the attention span for it- so I typically avoid the actual show and just look at pictures of the dresses the next day. This infographic of the dresses of all the Academy Award best actress winners was fascinating!
I love the style of Ellen and Portia’s horse ranch– it’s so clean and calm! Though I could never be that orderly. I have a real hard time cutting down on clutter and not impulse buying colorful things. 🙂
This post is so brave! Would you have the guts to publicly write all the annoying things your boss says- with her permission??
Why you should keep blogging, even if your only reader is your mom.
I know some rock climbing fanatics who should make this woven stool! Crafternoon, anyone?
I probably don’t need one (I live in Oregon, after all) but how fun would a new swimsuit be for the honeymoon? And this scalloped white and gold one is CALLING ME. (At just $410.)
Star Wars as NFL logos. Awesome mashup!
…and here’s some beautiful typography, for good measure.